Liquid container and dropper assembly



April 4, 1967 E. MILLER I LIQUID CONTAINER AND DROPPER ASSEMBLY FiledApril 25, 1964 /&

22 ELLISUN MILLER INVENTOR.

BYy Lww United States Patent This invention relates to a liquidcontainer in combination with a dropper and closure, and, moreparticularly, to means cooperating between the dropper and the containerwhich are adapted to charge quantities of liquid into the dropper to bedispensed from the container in predetermined amounts.

As is perhaps well known, numerous medicines and laboratory supplies aremaintained in storage vessels from whence limited quantities areutilized as required. It is often a requirement that substantiallypredetermined quantities be dispensed and this invention relates to acontainer provided with a closure including a dropper adapted todispense such quantities.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide in combinationa liquid container and a mating cap wherein the cap includes acompression chamber and the vessel includes a storage chamber and a tubeis provided communicating between the chambers and is adapted to becharged with a quantity of liquid for subsequent dispensing bymanipulation of a plunger operative on the compression chamber.

It is another object of this invention to provide a liquid dispensercombination of the type generally described hereinafter for repetitivedispensing of predetermined amounts of liquid from a dropper wherein theliquid is charged into the dropper as the dropper is immersed in thecontainer.

It is another object of this invention to provide a liquid dispenser anddropper of the type described hereinafter which is simple inconstruction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise welladapted for the purposes for which it is intended.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparenthereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodimentthereof.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the instant invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 andlooking in the direction of the arrow.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of FIG. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like referencecharacters designate like or corresponding parts throughout thedifferent views, and referring particularly to FIG. 1', the numeral 11designates generally a container for liquids which is provided with acap 12 threadably fastened thereto. As shown in FIG. 2, the container isin the shape of a truncated cone having side walls 13 and a relativelythick neck 16, provided with exterior threads 18 and having a centralopening or throat 19, at one end thereof and, at the other end thereof,a bottom 21 with a raised central portion 22 defining a circumferentialwell 23. An exterior shoulder 24 is provided at the juncture of the neckand side walls for purposes to be described and, as is apparent in FIG.2, the top of the neck is recessed forming an inverted dome shaped seat26 with the throat walls 19 having an annular groove 28 intermediate thelength thereof.

The cap is generally cylindrical in shape with knurled side walls 29which are bridged at the upper end 31 by a flexible head or plunger 32to define a compression chamber 33 therein. The head is recessed withrespect to the end 31 as at 34 to protect the head from unintendedflexing. The interior surface of the side walls is threaded as 3,312,255Patented Apr. 4, 1967 at 36 to mate with the aforesaid threads 18 of theneck and the upper limits of the threads 36 an annular seat 37 isprovided. A flexible diaphragm 38 comprises the floor of the compressionchamber, the said diaphragm having an outer lip 39 which is suitablyfastened in the seat 37 and having a central depending sleeve 41. Withinthe sleeve 41 one end of a dropper tube 42 is snugly retained infrictional engagement with the other end depending into the containerand having a pointed end 43 curved intermediate its length as at 44 toextend deeply into the well 23. The exterior of the sleeve includes araised band 46 or gasket to be normally received in the groove 28.

In use, liquid to be dispensed is poured into the container 11 throughthe throat 19 in the conventional manner. The cap 12 is threadablyfastened to the neck 16 of the container and, with reference to FIG. 3,as the cap moves closer with respect to the container, the diaphragm 3Sabuts the recessed seat 26 compressing that wall of the compressionchamber to the dotted line position of FIG. 3 until the leading edge 49of the cap seats on the shoulder 24 of the container. As the chamber 33is thus contracted the air displaced in the chamber 33 is caused to beforced from the tube 42 into the interior of the container. When the capis unscrewed from the container, fluid in the container is drawn intothe dropper tube 42, because of differential pressure between theinterior of the container and the compression chamber and the diaphragm38 moves from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG.3. Fluid in the dropper may then be dispensed by applying a forceindicated by a force line F of FIG. 3 in the direction shown on theplunger 32. When in the position shown in FIG. 2, the band 46 seats inthe groove 28.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in whatis conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosedherein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as toembrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, to dispense liquid, (a) a bottle having a mainchamber and (b) a cap;

(a) said cap including:

(1) side walls having a distal end and a proximal end, and a head ofresilient material intermediate said ends,

(2) a flexible diaphragm having a central hole spaced from said head andspanning said walls to define a compression chamber between the walls,head and diaphragm and said diaphragm including a depending skirtportion, and

(3) an axially extending pipette type dropper nested in the skirtdepending from the cap and communicating through said hole with thecompression chamber;

(b) said bottle having a threaded neck and said proximal end of the sidewall having mated threads of a corresponding axial length to the threadsof the neck;

(c) the neck of said bottle having an inverted dome shaped seatingsurface which partially roofs the main chamber and which has a centralopening therethrough;

(d) said diaphragm overlying and nesting in the seating surface when thecap and bottle are in threaded engagement in a biased attitude so thatthe volume of the compression chamber is reduced relative to the volumewhen the cap and bottle are separated from one another so that the samevolume of air in the compression chamber is displaced into the main '3 a4- chamber through the dropper each time the cap and floor of the bottlewhen the cap and bottle are in mating bottle are mated, and each timethe cap and bottle engagement. are separated substantially the sameamount of fluid is displaced into the dropper and may be ejectedReferences Cited y the Examiner therefrom on relative movement of thediaphragm 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS and head to contract the compressionchamber. 2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the said gcompression chamber is at all times within the side walls 2:877:8103/1959 hIIIIII: 141 24 belowthe distalend- 3,135,302 6/1964 Ballin141-24 3. A device as set forth'in claim 1 wherein said bottle 10 Iincludes a raised central portion in the floor and an an- FOREIGNPATENTS nular well and the extending end of the dropper is curved934,688 1/ 1948 France. to extend at all times into the well, saiddropper extending a distance from the diaphragm such that the extend-LAVERNE GEIGER: Primary Examinering end of the dropper is at all timesclosely adjacent the 15 E. EARLS, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION, TO DISPENSE LIQUID, (A) A BOTTLE HAVING A MAINCHAMBER AND (B) A CAP; (A) SAID CAP INCLUDING: (1) SIDE WALLS HAVING ADISTAL END AND A PROXIMAL END, AND A HEAD OF RESILIENT MATERIALINTERMEDIATE SAID ENDS, (2) A FLEXIBLE DIAPHRAGM HAVING A CENTRAL HOLESPACED FROM SAID HEAD AND SPANNING SAID WALLS TO DEFINE A COMPRESSIONCHAMBER BETWEEN THE WALLS, HEAD AND DIAPHRAGM AND SAID DIAPHRAGMINCLUDING A DEPENDING SKIRT PORTION, AND (3) AN AXIALLY EXTENDINGPIPETTE TYPE DROPPER NESTED IN THE SKIRT DEPENDING FROM THE CAP ANDCOMMUNICATING THROUGH SAID HOLE WITH THE COMPRESSION CHAMBER; (B) SAIDBOTTLE HAVING A THREADED NECK AND SAID PROXIMAL END OF THE SIDE WALLHAVING MATED THREADS OF A CORRESEPONDING AXIAL LENGTH TO THE THREADS OFTHE NECK; (C) THE NECK OF SAID BOTTLE HAVING AN INVERTED DOME SHAPEDSEATING SURFACE WHICH PARTIALLY ROOFS THE MAIN CHAMBER AND WHICH HAS ACENTRAL OPENING THERETHROUGH; (D) SAID DIAPHRAGM OVERLYING AND NESTINGIN THE SEATING SURFACE WHEN THE CAP AND BOTTLE ARE IN THREADEDENGAGEMENT IN A BIASED ATTITUDE SO THAT THE VOLUME OF THE COMPRESSIONCHAMBER IS REDUCED RELATIVE TO THE VOLUME WHEN THE CAP AND BOTTLE ARESEPARATED FROM ONE ANOTHER SO THAT THE SAME VOLUME OF AIR IN THECOMPRESSION CHAMBER IS DISPLACED INTO THE MAIN CHAMBER THROUGH THEDROPPER EACH TIME THE CAP AND BOTTLE ARE MATED, AND EACH TIME THE CAPAND BOTTLE ARE SEPARATED SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF FLUID ISDISPLACED INTO THE DROPPER AND MAY BE EJECTED THEREFROM ON RELATIVEMOVEMENT OF THE DIAPHRAGM AND HEAD TO CONTRACT THE COMPRESSION CHAMBER.